


Going Stealth

by ElAlmaDelMar



Series: A/B/O/tober 2020 [28]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/M, M/M, Secondary Gender Secrecy, suppressants
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27256495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElAlmaDelMar/pseuds/ElAlmaDelMar
Summary: This was the kind of shit that gave omegas a bad name. The stereotype of falling in love with an alpha at first glance, of throwing aside everything else to try and get that matebite — it dragged at him every time someone caught a good whiff of his scent. He could see it in their eyes, all too often — immediately their estimation of him would drop, immediately he'd go fromtough, scary swordsmantojust some O talking big. He'd prove them wrong, of course, in blades and blood, but even so, it lingered.A/B/O/tober Day 28: Suppressants
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Sanji, Sanji/Original Female Character
Series: A/B/O/tober 2020 [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947415
Comments: 11
Kudos: 101
Collections: A/B/O/tober 2020





	Going Stealth

The moment the snooty, overdressed blond waiter laid eyes on Nami, he was off, rhapsodizing about her beauty and carrying on like a damned over-hormonal idiot. 

Zoro watched him in disgust. This was the kind of shit that gave omegas a bad name. The stereotype of falling in love with an alpha at first glance, of throwing aside everything else to try and get that matebite — it dragged at him every time someone caught a good whiff of his scent. He could see it in their eyes, all too often — immediately their estimation of him would drop, immediately he'd go from _tough, scary swordsman_ to _just some O talking big_. He'd prove them wrong, of course, in blades and blood, but even so, it lingered. 

Kuina had said as much, teary-eyed in the moonlight. _I presented as an omega,_ she'd said. _And immediately, Father went from training me as a swordsman to planning for my future marriage. That's all anyone sees omegas as good for._ Zoro hadn't presented at that point, and she'd assumed (everyone had assumed) he would be an alpha. When he'd had his first heat, he'd been both frustrated and secretly glad; frustrated for the difficulties it would bring him, but glad to carry Kuina's dream forward. 

But _holy hell_ did it rankle in his gut every time he saw an omega doing just what this shitty-mouthed swirly-browed asswipe was doing, all but rolling belly-up on the floor in his haste to put himself subserviently at Nami's feet. 

She was enjoying it to the hilt, of course — free food, free drinks, flattery from an attractive and well-dressed mark — but Zoro's lip curled in a sneer. 

… Huh. That was odd, though. His sneer slid slightly, faltering toward a frown of confusion, and he inhaled a more deliberate breath. 

Couldn't smell a hint of omega coming off the guy. The immediate assumption had been formed with the way Blondie had beelined for Nami and immediately started fawning over her. Omega behavior. But he didn't _smell_ like an omega. 

Didn't smell like anything, actually. No hint of omega, no hint of alpha, not even of the subtle scent that marked a beta. It was like he was nothing at all.

* * *

"Blondie" proved to be _Sanji_ , their new cook. And a royal pain in the ass he was, but Zoro had to admit — privately, not where anyone could hear, sure as _hell_ not where Swirly could hear — that he was a damned fine cook, too. Training the way Zoro trained, pushing his body to extremes on a constant basis, he had some pretty solid ideas about how to fuel himself optimally, and the cook adapted to his dietary needs without any hesitation. 

They were in Cocoyashi Village, celebrating Arlong's downfall. Zoro was woozy with blood loss (not that he would admit it) and decided to stick with lounging and boozing rather than dancing. Luffy, of course, had thrown himself straight into the thick of everything. He loved parties. 

Sanji had cooked, and now was dancing, trading off partnering with what seemed like half the women in the village. 

And Zoro's eyes narrowed. Half the women… only the women, damn him, but he acted just the same, starry-eyed and worshipful and spineless, no matter the secondary of his partner of the moment. Alphas, betas, omegas, he treated them all just the same, so long as they were female. 

Granted, in a crowd, it was hard to smell a single person in much detail. But there was _nothing_ in the cook's scent. No sparks of particular interest when an alpha was on his arm, and no reaction to an omega, either. Surely someone as ridiculously horny as he was ought to react to one or the other? 

Did he want to bother asking? For some reason, the idea bothered him. If the cook was trying that hard to hide his secondary gender for whatever reason… well, there was something to be said for letting a man have some privacy, especially on a small ship where there wasn't much of it to go around. But on the other, it was the kind of thing that could rise up to bite them all, as a crew, in the ass later on. 

But he could imagine the cook saying something shitty about it if he asked, and in the end — well, if he was suppressed to all hell so someone sailing with him couldn't tell his secondary, what was the likelihood that anyone else was going to figure it out and make trouble for them?

* * *

"Hey, witch," Zoro greeted Nami amiably as he joined her in the crow's nest. "Cook's just putting out food now, he'll be glad to see you for dinner. I'll cover the rest of your watch." 

She tilted her head with a frown. "What, aren't you going to eat?" 

"Eh, not hungry. Heat's coming on." It was as much explanation as he felt like giving; going into heat messed with his appetite, but there was no point in saying so; she'd just worry. "I'll have something later maybe, before I head down to the cycle room." 

"We'll see if Sanji lets you get away with that," she said lightly. 

"Send him down to the cycle room while I'm in heat and I'm sending him back in pieces." 

That earned a laugh out of her. "What, afraid he's going to suddenly whip out some alpha backbone on you?" 

"No way in hell he's an alpha, the way he carries on." Zoro had very little faith in that pronouncement, actually, but it felt right, and maybe he could goad something out of Nami. The cook was all attentive toward her, maybe he'd let something slip. 

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and settled on pursing her lips with a frown. "You know, I thought he was, because of how territorial he is about the kitchen," she said slowly. "Not to mention — hm. But no, now that I think of it, he's never smelled like an alpha, has he?" 

"Not like anything else either," Zoro said. At least he wasn't the only one to notice. "Whatever he's on, it's good." 

"Or he never presented for some reason." She half shrugged. "I've heard of medical conditions that can cause that." 

"I've been wondering since we picked him up," Zoro admitted. "Can't get a clear scent off the guy, ever, and he flirts with any woman he sees, no matter her secondary." 

Nami's puzzlement melted into a scheming look. "Wondering, huh? Could be you're looking to get in on the action yourself?" 

"Ugh, no! He's a pain! I just wanna know what the deal is, since he's nakama and all!" 

"Uh-huh." She gave him a knowing look and started to climb down from the crow's nest. "Enjoy your watch, Zoro~" 

"Witch," he grumbled at her as she retreated. 

But all the same, he thought as he settled into the watch, the night air cooling the first threads of warmth crawling through his limbs and up into his face as his heat loomed just around the corner — all the same, now Nami would be thinking of it too. Of their little crew, he'd guess that the two of them were the most astute; if anyone was going to figure the cook out, it would be them, right?

**Author's Note:**

> Another one with more chapters to come after the end of the month! I'm not quite sure whether I'll end up with two chapters or three, but it probably won't be more than three. 
> 
> Come chat with me on my [Discord server](https://discord.gg/SWVYBBn)!


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